Paul Wheeler not retained as Lafayette's football coach

Marty O'BrienDaily Press

Paul Wheeler is out as head football coach at Lafayette High after 10 seasons during which he won a state title, reached another state final and won 82 games.

Wheeler said he told officials in early October, amid a controversy with a team parent, that he would resign effective at the end of the season. But he changed his mind after the season and asked Williamsburg-James City County Schools to allow him to remain as coach.

Wheeler said W-JCC Schools denied the request, rendering their final decision first during a telephone conference call on Thursday and then in person. Wheeler, who remains a history teacher at Lafayette, said he feels like he was "fired" as coach.

"Paul Wheeler did, indeed, resign in October and human resources accepted his resignation," W-JCC schools spokesman Greg Davy said. "Beyond that, we consider it a personnel matter and have no comment."

"What I am going to miss most of all are the kids," Wheeler said. "These guys worked their butts off the entire time I was coach here."

Lafayette athletic director Dan Barner also had no comment. Barner did not say when he will begin interviewing for Wheeler's replacement.

Wheeler said he would like to serve as head coach somewhere next year.

The resume he will present includes a 195-69 record and state titles at Lafayette in 2001 and at Lynchburg-area Rustburg in 1990 and '93.

He went 82-31 at Lafayette, guiding the Rams to three Bay Rivers District titles, two Region I titles, the 2001 Division 4 state title and an appearance in the 2002 state final. His final Lafayette team went 7-3 on the field in 2010 and initially qualified for the Region I Division 4 playoffs.

But several days before the scheduled playoff semifinal with Grafton, the Rams self-reported to the Virginia High School League that they did not have a physical examination form for a player who participated in two victories. The violation of VHSL rules caused the Rams to forfeit the game and their record fell to 5-5, dropping them from the playoffs.

That incident appears to have had no bearing on his discontinuation as coach. But the disappointment he felt at the ending to the 2010 season prompted him to inform his principal, Anita Swinton, that he wanted to retract his resignation.

Wheeler had resigned in October following an incident that began with a player's parent complaining to Swinton and Barner about how the coach had treated his son during a practice. Wheeler said that after Barner and Swinton interviewed players and others in attendance at the practice they dismissed the complaint as being without merit.

"Everything turned out as I thought it would, no problem," Wheeler said. "I was told to go back to coaching."

But Wheeler said the parent took the complaint to the W-JCC Schools central offices in mid-October and was given a hearing by Lindsay. The next day, Wheeler said, he was told by Barner that Lindsay was going to dismiss him as coach.

"I said, 'Wait a minute, I am not going to become a distraction for our kids,' " Wheeler said.

So Wheeler said he emailed W-JCC Schools his intention to resign at the end of the season.

Wheeler said that after consulting his assistant coaches, he informed Barner in November, two weeks after the season, that he wanted to stay on as coach. Wheeler said that Swinton approached Lindsay about his remaining as coach, but Lindsay said he could not.

Wheeler said he then requested a meeting to talk to Lindsay, whom he said instead set up a meeting a week ago with human resources director John Andre. Wheeler said he never met with Lindsay.

Wheeler said he was "ticked off" that he was initially informed during a telephone conference call. He said that Andre then drove over to Lafayette to talk.

"I'm going to get fired and they're going to do it over the loud-speaker of a phone," Wheeler said. "If you're going to get fired you want them to do it face-to-face.

"But (Andre) came (to Lafayette) and was nice."

Most of all, Wheeler is disappointed he did not get to plead his case to Lindsay in person.

"I'm a teacher and a coach in this system for 10 years," he said. "He (the complaining parent of the player) can go and talk to the assistant superintendent. I am in the (school) system and have put in years and requested a meeting, and didn't get it.

"Legally they don't have to give me a meeting and I know that. And she's going to fire me. Don't you think she's going to want to meet me?"